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If you're planning washroom remodeling, it might be wise to steer clear of employing this German artist to handle it.

Indeed, she's highly skilled with a silicone gun, producing intriguing artworks out of an unusual substance. However longer you observe these pieces, the clearer you realise that something is a little strange.

The thick tubes from the foam she crafts extend over display surfaces where they rest, hanging off the edges to the ground. Those twisted tubular forms bulge until they split. Certain pieces leave the display cases completely, becoming an attractor for dust and hair. Let's just say the feedback would not be positive.

There are moments I feel the feeling that items possess life within a space,” states the sculptor. Hence I started using silicone sealant as it offers a distinctly physical sensation and look.”

Indeed there is an element rather body horror in these sculptures, starting with the suggestive swelling which extends, hernia-like, from its cylindrical stand at the exhibition's heart, to the intestinal coils of foam that rupture resembling bodily failures. Along a surface, Herfeldt has framed images of the works captured in multiple views: they look like wormy parasites picked up on a microscope, or formations on a petri-dish.

I am fascinated by is how certain elements in our bodies occurring that also have a life of their own,” Herfeldt explains. Phenomena you can’t see or control.”

Regarding elements beyond her influence, the exhibition advertisement featured in the exhibition features a picture of water damage overhead in her own studio in the German capital. The building had been made in the seventies and, she says, was instantly hated by local people as numerous historic structures got demolished for its development. The place was in a state of disrepair as the artist – a native of that city but grew up north of Hamburg prior to moving to the capital in her youth – began using the space.

The rundown building was frustrating to Herfeldt – it was risky to display her art works without fearing potential harm – yet it also proved intriguing. Lacking architectural drawings available, it was unclear the way to fix the malfunctions which occurred. Once an overhead section within her workspace got thoroughly soaked it collapsed entirely, the sole fix was to replace the damaged part – perpetuating the issue.

In a different area, the artist explains dripping was extreme so multiple drainage containers got placed in the suspended ceiling in order to redirect the water to a different sink.

I understood that this place was like a body, a totally dysfunctional body,” the artist comments.

This scenario evoked memories of Dark Star, the initial work movie from the seventies featuring a smart spaceship that takes on a life of its own. As the exhibition's title suggests through the heading – Alice, Laurie & Ripley – that’s not the only film to have influenced Herfeldt’s show. The three names point to the female protagonists in Friday 13th, Halloween plus the sci-fi hit in that order. The artist references a 1987 essay written by Carol J Clover, which identifies the last women standing as a unique film trope – female characters isolated to overcome.

These figures are somewhat masculine, rather quiet enabling their survival thanks to resourcefulness,” the artist explains of the archetypal final girl. No drug use occurs or have sex. Regardless who is watching, everyone can relate to the survivor.”

Herfeldt sees a similarity linking these figures and her sculptures – things that are just about maintaining position amidst stress affecting them. Does this mean the art more about cultural decay rather than simply water damage? As with many structures, these materials intended to secure and shield against harm in fact are decaying within society.

“Absolutely,” responds the artist.

Prior to discovering her medium using foam materials, she experimented with different unconventional substances. Recent shows included forms resembling tongues using the kind of nylon fabric you might see within outdoor gear or in coats. Again there is the sense these strange items might animate – certain pieces are folded as insects in motion, some droop heavily on vertical planes or extend through entries collecting debris from touch (Herfeldt encourages viewers to touch leaving marks on pieces). As with earlier creations, these nylon creations are similarly displayed in – and breaking out of – budget-style acrylic glass boxes. They’re ugly looking things, and that's the essence.

“These works possess a particular style which makes one highly drawn to, yet simultaneously being quite repulsive,” the artist comments with a smile. “It tries to be invisible, however, it is extremely obvious.”

The artist does not create work to make you feel relaxation or aesthetically soothed. Instead, she wants you to feel unease, awkward, or even humor. However, should you notice water droplets on your head as well, don’t say you haven’t been warned.